Colorado jobless rate dips to 7.7% in November

DENVER — The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment says non-farm jobs increased 8,000 from October to November.

The department said Friday more than 2.3 million people were employed in Colorado at the beginning of last month.

Private sector payroll jobs increased 7,000 and government jobs were up 1,000 during the month-long period.

The department says the state's unemployment rate dropped two-tenths of a percentage point over the month to 7.7 percent. Those figures were in line with national unemployment rates.

Both Boulder and Broomfield counties saw 0.1 percentage point declines in their jobless rates, according to state labor data not adjusted for seasonal variations in employment.

Boulder County posted a 5.7 percent unemployment rate during November, where the monthly labor force declined by nearly 2,000 people to 178,841 and the number of unemployed shrank to 10,107 from 10,413.

Broomfield County's rate dipped to 6.8 percent. Broomfield's labor force during November was 31,154, down nearly 300 people, and unemployment dropped to 2,111 from 2,162.

County and metropolitan statistical area figures are not immediately adjusted for seasonal changes.

Comparatively, the non-seasonally adjusted jobless rate for Colorado was unchanged at 7.5 percent. Camera Business Writer Alicia Wallace contributed to this report.